Israeli-Bedouin Uda Trabin, who has been jailed in Egypt since 2000 on charges of spying for Israel, may soon be pardoned by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. President Shimon Peres recently received a message that the Egyptian authorities had reduced Trabin’s crime from spying to lesser charges.
Druze MK Ayoub Kara, who has been active in trying to gain Trabin’s release, said the message from Egypt is a sign that the Mubarak may pardon Trabin soon. The Bedouin man was sentenced in Egypt to 15 years in prison in 2000, but it was only in 2005 that Israel became aware of his arrest.